When I travel, I prefer to have very loose plans and not plan every detail. The freedom of not knowing what will happen tomorrow if probably the single most exciting thing about traveling for me, when I travel alone.

Right now I am sitting in a small town called Olhao in southern Portugal. I just checked in to a little roadside hotel, I had never heard the name of 2 hours ago and I am really having a good time, cause I feel free and I have nothing that I must do for the next many days. I do not know where I will sleep tomorrow and I love it.

These places are nice, but it’s not the only thing that travel is about.

Some people love to make a schedule.

You can do better things than stand in line to see an old building.

I like to answer questions in various online travel forums and when people write to me though my blog, but I get a little tired when people ask me to help them with an exact schedule for a two week trip, where every single detail is planned in advance. I guess that many people are a little afraid if they feel that they are not in control all the time and some people are maybe afraid that they will not see anything, unless they plan everything in advance. I can understand that people who have a short holiday of a week or less will want to plan a little to make the most out of the trip, but if you have more than 2 weeks, then you should calm down and try not to get too detailed if you ask me.

When you travel alone, you meet the best people.

My personal experiences are better when I have no schedule.

I mostly travel alone and I am a social person who talks to random people I meet along the road and I often end up spending several days or even weeks with people I meet on the road. This is very hard if you have all your accommodation for a longer round trip booked in advance, cause then you will most likely part with them after a day or two, because your bookings tell you that you must move on. I have probably missed out a few must sees around the world, because I met an interesting person and decided to stay with that person, or travel with him/her, but the single best thing about my 27 years of traveling the globe non stop, is all the wonderful people I have met around the world and with the internet and social networks we have today, it’s possible to stay in touch with these people, so that they are not just someone who becomes a fleeing acquaintancethat I will never talk to again, after we part.

I met these two brazilian guys 24 years ago while traveling through Brazil and we are still great friends.

People are more important than monuments to me.

I have seen the Acropolis, walked on the great wall of China, sailed the Amazon river, Been to Jerusalem and Petra and lot’s lot’s more. This was all really interesting experiences, but my trips is not about ticking off things on a bucket list, but about learning about the world in all aspects and you limit yourself too much in that regard, if you do not have time to suddenly take off for a few days to a random destination with some interesting person you just met. It’s not everyone who wants to be as radical as me and live as a homeless boheme for several decades, but I think you should try not to over plan your coming trips and leave more room for improvisation along the road, especially if you travel alone.

I once ended up at a brazilian motorbike rally in Serra Talhada, just because I followed some people I met.

You will be remembered for the extraordinary things that you did in life and not for the things you bought, so make sure to leave room for the extraordinary.